


Nice to Meet You (Again)

by prydon



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Basically just that video where the guy flirts with his own wife after waking up from dental surgery, Carte Blanche fic, Flirting, Fluff, Other, but make it Jupeter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25917406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prydon/pseuds/prydon
Summary: Nureyev gets injured on a heist and has to have an operation that leaves him loopy from the sedative.Juno finds himself being hit on by his boyfriend as though they've never met before.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 41
Kudos: 381





	Nice to Meet You (Again)

**Author's Note:**

> I happened across that viral video of the guy chatting up his wife while high from a procedure again the other day and was like "OH THIS IS NUREYEV" and immediately had to write this.
> 
> It's pure tooth-rotting fluff lol (apart from a TINY bit of sad at the beginning bc Nureyev has to get hurt first to set up the fluff) so consider it an apology for all the other sad stuff I keep writing.
> 
> Also the working title of this fic was "Peter After Dentist" and believe me when I say I came THIS CLOSE to actually leaving it as that when I posted.

It was a simple enough heist.

At least, it had been right up until the moment that the stage that Nureyev had been standing on mere minutes previously while undercover as a lounge singer had exploded into a million pieces.

The bomb didn’t even have anything to do with them: it had been placed there by a rival of the group they were stealing from, trying to strike fear into their clients and ruin their business. No one had died, but several had been injured, including Nureyev.

Juno had nearly tripped over his own skirts in his efforts to reach the man’s side as quickly as possible. Nureyev was sprawled on the ground looking dazed, the front of his fancy velvet vest shredded by bits of metal from the stage. There had been so much blood, and Juno had never been more terrified. Buddy had had to drag him away so that Jet could lift Nureyev into his strong arms and carry him back to the Ruby 7 so they could make their escape.

Nureyev had been taken to the infirmary immediately, where Vespa was currently operating on him to remove the metal from his torso. She’d insisted that the wounds were shallow and there was no way they were lethal, but that didn’t make Juno feel much better.

He couldn’t help hovering outside the entire time that the operation was going on, replaying what had happened in his head and cursing himself for not being able to stop it.

He should have done more. Should have noticed the bomb. It should have been him instead. He was the one who was supposed to take the lumps, not Nureyev, never Nureyev-

“Mistah Steel?”

Rita had been waiting with him and was now looking at him with a concerned expression. She touched his arm, and the feeling of her hand helped him shake himself out of his panic spiral. No. He was trying not to think like that anymore. It was bad that Nureyev was hurt, yes, and it was okay that he was upset by it, but that didn’t mean it was his fault or that he deserved to hurt too. He needed to remember that.

His heart jumped to his throat when Vespa finally opened the infirmary door.

She wiped her brow, looking exhausted. “All finished. I managed to get all the shrapnel out and stitch him up, and he’s awake now.”

“Can I see him?!” Juno asked.

She hesitated, then said, “…All right. Make sure he doesn’t move around too much, drinks enough water, and gets some sleep soon.”

“I will.”

“I’ll warn you, though, the sedative I used is still wearing off and he’s been acting…Well, I wouldn’t take anything he says too seriously. Just a minute ago he introduced himself to me as ‘Mr. Marquis’ and was insisting I tell him where the nearest fire escape was.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.” Juno knew how important it was to Nureyev to keep his secrets. He only hoped the man wouldn’t accidentally say anything he didn’t want to while under the influence, and internally vowed to forget it ever happened if he did.

When he and Rita walked into the infirmary, they found Nureyev lounging in the first bed, looking ruffled and exhausted but very much alive. He looked up at them, dark eyes wide and shining in the dim artificial light.

Juno smiled at him and sat down in the chair beside his bed. “Hey, there. How are you feeling?”

“Hmm. Not well,” Nureyev responded levelly. “Better than before, though. Why do you ask?”

“Why do you think? Because I’m concerned about you, stupid.”

“Oh.” This seemed to confuse the thief for some reason. He swayed slightly, his eyes struggling to fix on Juno. “You’re very beautiful. Did you know that?”

Rita burst into giggles, and Juno felt his face heat up. “Look, you should get some rest. Sleep off the laughing gas, all right?”

“Whyever would I wish to sleep, when there’s a sight like you to greet me when I’m awake?” Nureyev said, then suddenly paused and frowned. “Forgive me. It’s rude to flirt with someone at their place of work, isn’t it?”

Juno was completely lost now. “At my place of…?”

“I _must_ thank the doctor for sending me the prettiest nurse…” Nureyev continued, all worries about rudeness apparently already forgotten.

Rita covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh my goodness. Mistah Steel, Mistah Ransom doesn’t remember you and thinks you’re his nurse!” she squealed unnecessarily. “This is just like in the stream _An Amnesiac Werewolf in New London,_ when the main character-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get the point,” Juno said. He was trying his best not to take anything Nureyev was saying to heart, compromised as he was, but he couldn’t resist feeling a little flattered. “Look, do you want me to get you some water or something?”

“No, no, I’m quite all right,” Nureyev said.

“I’m going to get you some water.” Juno grabbed the empty glass by his bed and took it to the nearby sink. He could feel Nureyev’s eyes on him as he filled it up.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Nureyev asked abruptly as soon as he walked back over.

Juno opened and closed his mouth several times before he found his voice again. “U-uh, yeah, I am.”

Nureyev’s face fell immediately. He looked away and let out a huff of disappointment. “Of course you are. There was no way such a beautiful lady could be single. You must have men falling all over you.”

Juno couldn’t keep himself from laughing. “Idiot. I’m seeing _you._ I’m your girlfriend.”

Nureyev stared at him, his eyes wide. _“Really?”_

“Uh-huh.”

“We’re dating?!”

“Yep,” Juno said.

“To think I should be so lucky!” Nureyev said, sounding genuinely shellshocked.

Juno handed him the glass of water with a flustered smile. “Drink some water, all right? You need to stay hydrated while you recover.”

“Thank you, dearest.” Nureyev took a sip. “…Do I call you that?”

“Among many other things, yes.”

“We’re _really_ dating? You’re positive? For how long?”

“Keep drinking, babe,” Juno insisted. “Try to finish the glass.”

 _“Babe…”_ Nureyev repeated the word softly. His eyes were tracing Juno’s face like he really was looking at him for the very first time, and he loved what he was seeing. “What did I do to deserve someone like you?!”

Juno knew that Nureyev found him attractive. That shouldn’t have been a surprise. The man had expressed his attraction to him on the day they very first met, after all. Still…he’d always assumed that most of the initial flirting had just been Rex Glass, just a ruse to distract Juno into trusting him, and the real attraction had only come later.

To know that the man did think he was beautiful from the first moment he saw him, even as Nureyev, even having no memory of who he was…Well. It wasn’t unpleasant.

“I often ask myself the same thing,” Juno said lightly.

Nureyev hummed. “Let me look at you, darling.”

“You are looking at me.”

“Stand up and turn around.”

Juno laughed and shook his head. “Finish your water.”

Nureyev stuck out his lip in a pout. “Your boyfriend has been _terribly_ injured and is trapped in this horrid bed and you won’t even do a turn for him?”

“Oh, whatever. Fine.” Juno rose from his seat and awkwardly pivoted himself in a circle. “There. Is that good enough for you?”

Nureyev looked awed. “Oh, my love. You’re stunning. Like a model.”

“I’m literally just wearing sweats and a t-shirt right now.”

“And yet you light up the world as brightly as the sun nonetheless, all the more beautiful for the fact that your beauty need not come from makeup or intricate clothing, but something more natural and ingrained, pure as a flower growing in the meadow, gorgeous in its…enchanting…simplicity…” Nureyev trailed off, his face screwed up in confusion, apparently having managed to baffle himself with his own words.

“That one got away from you a bit, didn’t it?” Juno said with a snort.

“Apologies. I don’t think all my…faculties are working correctly at the moment.”

“You think? Look, as sweet as all this is, you should really get some rest. Vespa would be pissed at me if she knew how much you’ve been talking.”

“Who could ever be angry with you, my angel?”

“Shockingly, quite a lot of people manage it, actually. All the time.”

“How terrible of them.” Nureyev reached out a shaky hand and laid it on top of Juno’s. He studied Juno’s calloused fingers as though they were the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen, intertwining them with his own. “No ring…We’re not engaged yet? Why not?”

The heat returned to Juno’s face in an instant. “U-uh. I don’t know. I didn’t realize you wanted to be. We really haven’t been dating that long, you know.”

Nureyev let out another huff. “We ought to be engaged. I’m never going to find anyone better than you, obviously.”

“…How about we have this conversation again when you’re in your right mind, okay, hon?”

“Hmm. All right.”

He’d expected Nureyev to protest, but instead he fell silent. Even in his drugged up, uninhibited state, he seemed determined to respect Juno’s boundaries.

Juno thought he might finally be falling asleep, but then:

“Dear?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Darling, sweetheart, love of my life, my jewel on a dark night-”

Juno rolled his eye good-naturedly. “Get on with it.”

“…What is your name?”

Juno stared at him, momentarily stunned into silence. “Oh my god.”

“Only, we’ve been talking for so long, and I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I just can’t remember- It really is horrible of me, to forget the name of my own paramour, but I can’t stand not to know for another moment-”

Juno started to stammer a reply, but before he could manage it, he heard a burst of loud, cackling laughter next to him. He looked over to see Rita doubled over, clutching her side.

“I-I’m sorry, Mistah Steel!” she said. “I just couldn’t hold it in anymore! This is even better than _An Amnesiac Werewolf in New London,_ I tell yah. An’ that’s saying something, because it’s one of my all-time favorites.”

He’d been so distracted by Nureyev that he’d almost forgotten that she was even there. Suddenly, everything that had just happened was ten times as embarrassing. He realized with a start that not only was she still here, but she was holding up her comms, pointing it in Nureyev’s direction-

“Rita, are you _filming?!”_ he exclaimed.

“I promise I’ll delete it immediately if Mistah Ransom tells me to once he’s thinking right again,” she insisted, “but this was just too cute to pass up! You guys are adorable! The others deserve to see this.”

“I don’t mind,” Nureyev said. He faced Rita and made an expression that Juno was pretty sure was supposed to be a wink for the camera, but looked more like a bizarre grimace.

“Yeah, well, you might mind later,” Juno grumbled.

“Anyway. Your name, my love,” Nureyev insisted. “I must know.”

“If I tell you it, will you agree to drink the rest of your water and go to sleep?”

Nureyev nodded eagerly. “I swear it.”

“My name’s Juno. Juno Steel.”

 _“Juu_ -no.” The thief rolled the name around in his mouth like Rex Glass had the day they’d first met. He said it like it was the most beautiful word he’d ever heard. _“Juno._ Goddess of protectors. Oh, what a fitting name for a goddess such as yourself. My dear, if I weren’t confined to this bed, I would fall at your feet in worship.”

“Yeah, uh, that’s not necessary.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you…again, Juno. I suppose I could re-introduce myself, too.” Nureyev reached out a hand to shake. “I’m…” He hesitated, frowning. “You know, I’m not quite sure who I am at the moment.”

Juno realized that Nureyev had it so ingrained in his mind to never give his real name to anyone that he wasn’t inclined to do so even when he was in a state like this, with all pretenses and memories gone. Something about that made his heart ache. He took Nureyev’s hand anyway, then leaned in and kissed him on the temple.

“The only thing you need to be right now is asleep,” he said.

“Will you return here when I awake?”

“Of course,” Juno said. “I love you.”

Nureyev’s eyes widened, and then he smiled a big, dopey smile. “I love you, too.”

He said it the way a child might say it, when they don’t really know what it means yet but know to parrot it back to their parents. Juno knew that love at first sight didn’t exist. Nureyev hadn’t fallen in love with him the moment he’d first laid eyes on him climbing out the window, and the scatter-brained, amnesiac version lying in front of him now wasn’t in love with him yet either.

He would be when he next awoke, though. Juno was sure of that, and it filled his chest with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

“Now, good night- Oh.” Juno stopped. Nureyev’s eyes were closed and he was snoring softly, already dead to the world. “…Good. I kind of thought that would be more of a fight.”

He adjusted the blankets to cover Nureyev better, filled his glass again so he’d have water when he woke up, and then turned to Rita.

“All right. Stop recording already, and lets go.”

He was surprised when he looked to his ex-secretary and found she’d pocketed her comms and was looking at him with wide, wet eyes.

“Rita? Are you okay?!”

“Mistah _Steeeeel!”_

“What?!”

“I’m just so h-h-happy for yooooou!”

His concern melted into an amused expression. He interlocked one of his arms with one of hers and led her out of the infirmary. “Come on now, Rita. Get it together.”

“I am together! I’m just glad! Mistah Ransom loves you so much even when he doesn’t remember you, and it’s just…it’s what you deserve, is all!”

He wasn’t sure if he agreed, or if he could ever deserve Peter Nureyev, but he definitely wasn’t going to argue with Rita when she was so excited. He just shook his head, smiling.

“Whatever you say.”


End file.
